Page 41 of Her Chosen Protector

Asher came closer and put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Eden was surprised at the amount of comfort she took in the act, especially since he hadn’t proven himself to her yet. But hasn’t he? Hadn’t she finally met somebody cut of the same cloth as the men in her family? At last?

There was something about Asher Thorne that made her want to lean on him. Something about him that made her ache to believe in him. She shrugged it off; she needed to focus on the fact that they were still stuck in the bank, and Suzanne still needed to get to a hospital.

“We’re going to get Señora Azua out the same way we came in. My lieutenant will be waiting to take her to the hospital on the other side of the gate. You’ll see, she’ll be in a private room with her mother and daughter real soon.”

Her heart clenched at his steady words.

“I want to believe you,” she whispered.

“You can,” he whispered back. “You can, Eden.”

He crouched down and lifted Suzanne up as gently as Leland had, then his radio crackled. “Ash, we’ve got a problem.”

Eden didn’t recognize the voice.

Raiden finished stuffing supplies back into his utility pouch and stood up. He made a motion and Asher shifted Suzanne into his arms. Raiden spoke into his microphone. “Nic, get down to the basement, now!”

“What’s the problem, Cullen?” Asher asked.

“There’s a tank that’s coming down the boulevard. Right now, everyone is ignoring it, thinking it is part of the parade, but it’s not. It’s coming straight to the bank.”

A tank?

Eden heard the door to the stairway open again, she put her head out and saw a young blonde man in uniform. It had to be Nic. “This way,” she motioned.

Raiden brushed past her holding Suzanne. “You’re blocking for me, Nic. We’re taking her through the gate. Need to get her to a hospital. Asher, tell—”

“I’m on it,” Asher said as he waved Raiden away.

“Cullen, Raiden just trached Señora Azua. He and Nic will be coming out with her. She needs transport to a hospital. You got it?”

Eden heard Cullen say, “Rafa.”

“I don’t care if it’s a fucking water taxi, just get ‘er done. I asked Kane for files on some people thirty minutes ago. What’s his problem?”

“Ash, this is Kane. I’ve been monitoring all the chatter. Been waiting for you to have a moment to go offline so I could give you the debrief, or did you want me to cut in and debrief you now?” His tone was sarcastic.

She saw Asher wince.

“Roger that.” Was Asher’s response.

“Ash, this is Leo.” That was a new name. “Rafa’s in position to pick up his aunt. The hospital has been notified. We also have eyes on the tank. It’s an Alvis Scorpion.”

“Oh shit. Are you sure?”

Asher seemed really worried. This was not good.

“Yep. One of Rafa’s friends posted it on their Instagram.”

“Did you say Instagram?” Asher asked.

“Can it, Thorne,” Kane grumbled. “We’ve got to get everybody the hell out of there, now.”

Asher turned to Eden. “What’s your gut telling you? Who’s the bad guy? Becker or Carlson?”

Eden grimaced and ran her fingers through her tangled hair, then gave up. “Carlson’s an asshole, no doubt. He got us the hell out of dodge when we were in trouble though; why would he do that if he wanted to serve us up to Maduro?”

“On the other hand, Becker’s reputation with the IMF is pristine, the work he’s done for different countries has been unbelievable. I thought he came from money, so I don’t know why he would be trying to siphon off more.”